• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

Ex Employer bashing me

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

D

dkholman

Guest
What is the name of your state? Iowa

I was terminated from my last employer and just found out that he is talking about me real bad to any potential employers I may have. Because of this, I have been unemployed for 2 months. Can he do this and if not, what is my course of action?
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
It depends upon EXACTLY what he is saying.

Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing illegal about a negative reference. It is only illegal to give an UNTRUE reference. Note that "untrue" and "a reference I disagree with" are not necessarily the same thing.

The employer is legally entitled to say anything that is true or that represents his honest opinion. If what he is saying is true, then you have no case whatsoever, no matter how negative and no matter how it affects you. So if he says you were frequently late, and you WERE frequently late, you can't sue him. If he says you got negative performance reviews, and you DID get negative performance reviews, you can't sue him.

If what he is saying is something he honestly believes to be true, then again you can't sue him. So if he says that you had a bad management style, and he honestly believes you had a bad management style, you can't sue him.

But if he says something that is FALSE, such as that you were fired for stealing (when you were fired for a totally different reason, or you quit), then you MAY be able to take legal action.

The burden of proof is on you to show ALL of the following:

1.) What he is saying is FALSE. Not an opinion that you disagree with, not a misunderstanding, not a differing view of what transpired, but FALSE.
2.) It was broadcast to a third party.
3.) As a result of what he said, you suffered damages.

It's not enough for you to say, Well, I didn't get the job, so he must have said something bad about me. You need to show that he said something UNTRUE and that as a direct result, you didn't get the job. In other words, BUT FOR what he said, you would have been hired.

If you believe you can meet this criteria, see a local attorney.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
If you can afford to pay $100 to have a reference checking company do an official reference check on you, then consider having that done as you would then have documented evidence about what they actually said that you would be able to use in court if you decide to sue.
 

isc

Member
this is a question i alwas had to. I think in my pass is the reason i didnt get jobs is because of this. The thing is i use to hear from everybody that the job wasnt allowed to say if you were fired and what for. The way i understood it is that the company only suppose to verfy if you worked there, what you got paid and the dates that you worked there and thats it. But i have a friend thats a supervisor that said that when he talked to someone and asked them certain things the superviors told him everything he wanted to know.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
There is no Federal law and no law in any state that says an employer cannot say you were fired or what for. No Federal law and no law in any states limits an employer to dates of employment, job title and salary. Many employers have implemented such a policy; so many that a great many people believe it is the law. It is not. An employer can legally say anything that is true or that they honestly believe to be true. In fact, in some circumstances, the employer can be legally liable if they do NOT tell a prospective employer why an employee was fired.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
At least get an attorney to send this company a letter warning them that they must comply with the law, and they will be more careful about what they say in the future. If you don't put them on notice, they are going to continue doing the same thing and it will interefere with you being able to get a job.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
And Don, your PROOF that the employer is not complying with the law is...?
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
Why are you asking ME what was said in a conversation that I did not hear? You should be asking the poster that question: this is the only person who can provide further clarification.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
I'm asking you because YOU are the one telling him to get an attorney to tell the employer to stop breaking the law. "Talking real bad about me" could be saying he came in late when he DID come in late - that's not breaking the law. It could be saying he made 30 mistakes a day when he DID make 30 mistakes a day - that's not breaking the law. It could be the employer offering his opinion that the poster had bad work habits - offering a negative opinion is not breaking the law.

YOU are the one jumping to conclusions - that's why I asked YOU.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top